17 September 2026 — The UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RCC Asia-Pacific) and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) co-organised the webinar, Ocean and Climate Change: Strengthening Research-Policy-Implementation Linkages in Asia-Pacific, to examine how ocean and coastal research can more effectively inform climate policy, adaptation planning and implementation across the region.

Opening remarks were delivered by Ms Julie Amoroso-Garbin, Regional Lead of RCC Asia-Pacific, and Mr Toshiyuki Yamasaki, Director of the APN Secretariat. Speakers highlighted the importance of ensuring that ocean and coastal research is not only scientifically robust, but also accessible, responsive to policy needs and capable of informing practical decisions.

Scene setting: From ocean ambition to implementation

The scene-setting segment highlighted messages from the 2026 Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue and perspectives looking ahead to COP31.

Dr Sivendra Michael, co-facilitator of the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue 2026, highlighted the growing integration of ocean priorities into nationally determined contributions (NDCs), while emphasising that implementation depends on stronger science, data, finance, capacity and partnerships. He noted that ocean research and observations are important for addressing knowledge gaps, supporting project design, strengthening blue carbon monitoring and helping countries identify the finance and technologies needed to implement ocean priorities.

He also stressed that science and research should inform ocean-climate-biodiversity policy rather than remain separate from policy processes, and highlighted the importance of partnerships involving researchers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the private sector and policymakers.

Representing the COP31 Presidency, Ms Narelle Hill emphasised that the ocean connects with multiple areas of climate action, including mitigation, adaptation, finance, just transition, loss and damage and science. Rather than creating a separate negotiating silo, she highlighted the importance of integrating ocean considerations across existing climate processes and strengthening implementation, support and institutionalisation.

Mr ​Emrah Soylemez, also representing the COP31 Presidency,​ similarly stressed the need to move from targets to implementation by linking national priorities with knowledge, partnerships, finance, institutional capacity, technology and reliable data.

Featured projects from APN

The webinar featured two APN projects illustrating how locally grounded research can contribute to ocean and climate policy. The research pitch segment was moderated by Mr Yamasaki, who also introduced APN’s work on climate, coasts and oceans and highlighted the network’s role in supporting regional research, capacity development and science-policy linkages.

Blue carbon ecosystems and community participation

Prof Ryo Kohsaka and Dr Yining Wang presented findings from the project “Enhancing capacities of local stakeholders in the Coral Triangle for Blue Carbon Ecosystem Management (CBA2020-05SY-Kohsaka)”.

Their presentation highlighted the multiple benefits provided by mangroves and seagrasses, including food, livelihoods, coastal protection, recreation and support for fisheries. The research also found that people were less aware of the benefits of seagrasses than of mangroves.

The presentation underscored the importance of community awareness and participation in supporting effective blue carbon management. Prof Kohsaka also described how the research network and approaches developed through the APN project are continuing through subsequent work in Indonesia and are contributing to NDC-related and other policy processes.

During the discussion, Dr Wang highlighted a pathway from local evidence on community participation and awareness to national strategies, blue carbon monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and NDC implementation, while expressing interest in sharing and adapting these approaches in other developing-country contexts.

Mobility, place attachment and adaptation in the Pacific

Prof Andreas Neef presented findings from the APN project “Moving to Remain in Place: Micro-Mobilities and Circular Migration as Adaptive Strategies to Gendered Climate Risks in Fiji and Samoa (CRRP2023-02MY-Neef)”.

The research examined how coastal communities respond to increasing climate risks without necessarily choosing permanent relocation. Findings showed that temporary movement, circular mobility and adaptation-in-place can provide important strategies for communities that remain strongly attached to their land, villages and cultural spaces.

The study identified several community narratives, but all reflected strong place attachment and a desire to remain. Climate micro-mobility emerged as a potentially viable adaptation strategy for communities facing high levels of climate exposure. The project therefore recommended that governments and international donors support community-led adaptation-in-place, while considering planned relocation as a measure of last resort.

He also described efforts to bring the findings into policy discussions, including a regional policy workshop with government representatives in Fiji. He noted that Griffith University’s participation in the UNFCCC Universities Partnership Programme provides another pathway for research to respond to knowledge gaps emerging from international climate processes.

Moderated panel discussion

The panel discussion, moderated by Ms Jean Regulano of RCC Asia-Pacific, welcomed Dr Atsamon Limsakul of the Climate Change and Environmental Research Center​, Department of Climate Change and Environment, Thailand​; Mr Kenley Kenneth​ of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); and Ms Oumalkhaire Yacin​ of the UNFCCC secretariat as panellists.

Dr Limsakul described how ocean and climate research is informing national adaptation planning and implementation. Research on sea-level rise, coastal erosion, seawater intrusion and ecosystem degradation supports risk mapping, infrastructure planning, ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions. He also highlighted links between ocean research and NDC implementation, particularly in relation to blue carbon.

From a Pacific regional perspective, Mr Kenneth highlighted that the main challenge is not simply a lack of science but a gap between knowledge and action. Research needs to be accessible, usable and locally relevant, and connected to decision making, finance and implementation. Regional organisations can help bridge this gap by building partnerships, regional platforms, technical capacity and investment pathways.

Ms Yacin presented the UN Climate Change Universities Partnership Programme, which connects knowledge and know-how needs identified through UNFCCC processes with accredited universities and graduate students. The programme begins with adaptation questions identified by policymakers, practitioners and communities. It then connects them with researchers who develop targeted outputs for specific users.

Key messages

The presentations and discussion highlighted several considerations for strengthening research-policy-implementation linkages for ocean and climate action:

• Ocean action is cross-cutting. Ocean issues connect mitigation, adaptation, finance, loss and damage, biodiversity, science and other areas of climate policy. They therefore need to be integrated across climate processes rather than treated separately.
• Local context matters. Evidence on ecosystem benefits, community awareness, mobility, place attachment and local knowledge can help identify adaptation and management approaches that reflect how communities actually experience and respond to climate risks.
• Research needs clear pathways into policy. The examples from APN projects and Thailand showed how research can contribute to national strategies, national adaptation plans (NAPs), NDC implementation, risk mapping, blue carbon MRV and other planning and implementation processes.
• The challenge is not only producing knowledge, but using it. As highlighted by SPREP, research should be accessible, usable and connected to decisions, finance and implementation.
• Research-policy linkages should work in both directions. Policy and implementation needs can help shape research priorities, while monitoring, evaluation and lessons from implementation can inform future research.
• Strong evidence alone is not enough. Effective ocean and climate action also requires institutions, partnerships, finance, capacity and mechanisms that can turn knowledge into action.

Visit the event page to access other information about the webinar.